All For You
by MightyMongoose
Summary: [WIP] When a demon threatens the human world, the team sets off to defeat him. But who will have to pay the ultimate price? And can the others save him? don't own em.
1. Of Nightmares and Mongooses

Blood. The stench of it almost overpowered him. Yusuke could barely keep himself from gagging, the odor was that powerful. He could barely see, for the room was as dark as night. But he could tell that this was an evil place, a place that reeked of death. If it wasn't for the dire situation Yusuke would never have come here. However one of his friends was missing, and this was where all his leads had pointed.

A faint cry brought him back to his senses, but where did it come from? Another louder call, coming from…..there! A door that was nearly invisible against the rough walls. Yusuke threw it open and what he saw made his jaw drop.

"KURAMA!"

Yusuke woke with a jolt. He was in his bedroom and covered in a cold sweat.

"Wow, that was a messed up dream." Turning to his clock, the bright green numbers read 2:58 AM. 'Not to spaz, but maybe I should call Botan, you know, just in case.'

Yusuke fumbled in the semi-darkness of his room to find his Communication Mirror. After ten minutes of frivolous searching he found it under a sweaty sock.

"Hey Botan….BOTAN!" A sleepy-looking blue-haired girl looked groggily back at him.

"Yusuke you do know it's three in the mor-mor- morning," as she failed to stifle a yawn.

"Yeah well I had a weird dream. Can you tell me where Kurama is?" Botan looked confused. "I just had a really freaky dream and I need to know if he's okay."

"Well, of course Yusuke, just a moment," Botan appeared to have finally woken up. "Let's see, he's asleep, like most people, at his house in Nigenkai. Where did you expect him to be?"

"You don't want to know. Sorry Botan, I guess I'll just go back to bed. See ya." He hung up on the deity of death, and tossed the mirror in the corner.

The mirror buzzed, and Yusuke, cursing, picked it back up.

"Yeah, what now?"

Koenma appeared on the screen this time. I have another case for you. I was going to tell you in the morning but since you were awake-"

"No way, I just had to ask one thing and BAM I get a case. There has to be some maximum hour thing that I must have exceeded. I mean can't a guy get any time off?"

"Well yes there is a maximum hour count. I believe it is around 25,000 hours, and you've had two weeks off so stop whining this is important!"

"Yeah, yeah I'm listening."

"A dangerous mongoose demon has escaped into Ningenkai and is on a killing spree; last night alone he killed fourteen people!"

"A mongoose? Are you kidding me? Lemme guess, you want me to take him down, right?"

"Well yes, but be careful this demon is an A class, with a bit more training he could be an S class demon. Oh yes, and his name is Shintaro. I want you to get Kurama and Kuwabara and fill them in, Kurama will know where to find Hiei, and we'll go from there. Well, what are you waiting for!"

"Sunrise," came the sarcastic reply and he hung up on yet another friend from Rekai.

As Yusuke climbed back into bed, he could help thinking about his dream. 'I hope it wasn't a vision or anything, cause if it is then….then…..aww crap, stop being stupid, nothing is going to happen to Kurama!'

And with that he fell into a deep sleep, one not plagued with nightmares about Kurama.

But instead of sleeping Yusuke should have been with his friend, for little did he know, his dream was more than night terrors. It was a premonition, one that could be deadly for the fox.

------

_The next day, after school_

It was a beautiful day in early autumn, for the leaves were only beginning to change colors. All was as it should be.

Kurama was walking home from school on his usual route through the park. He was thinking of Karasu, for the Dark Tournament had only occurred two weeks ago. The violet eyes that haunted him during the night had taken its toll on the redhead. Faint circles had appeared under his eyes, though someone had yet to notice.

"Excuse me, sir?" A scratchy voice brought him out of his reverie.

An older man, wearing a heavy trench coat was looking at Kurama with an odd look in his eyes.

"Yes, how may I help you?"

But the man didn't say anything; he just kept looking at Kurama with that weird gaze, and began to pull something from deep inside his pocket.

When Kurama saw what it was, his eyes widened, and he could not suppress the gasp that escaped from his lips.


	2. What is Normal?

_Responses to My Lovely Reviewers:_

_Red Kitsune Flames: Thank you, thank you thank you! My first reviewer ever! You should have seen me I was dancing around my house I was so happy : )_

_Purplehairedwonder: The reason it was short was because I wanted to be evil and leave a cliff, even if it was a bad one : P Hope this chapter's long enough for your liking. Though nothing angst-y happens in this one, I'll have fun with the fox BWAHAHAHAHA!_

_Kahuffstix: awww thanks. I hope you like angst-y fics cause there's gonna be a little blood in future chapters_

_Ok here we go…._

The man reached into his trench coat and pulled out…….a glass lily! It was beautiful. Its delicate petals shimmered in the sunlight, and the man cradled it in his hands.

"What do you think young man? I bought it for my wife. It's out 42nd anniversary tomorrow."

Kurama was speechless. He had never seen anything so beautiful even in his long life of theiving.

"Well that was the desired effect," the man looked very pleased with himself. "I just needed another opinion." And with that, he continued down the path.

(I know a horrible cliffy but I had to try one)

Kurama cocked his head, for that was more than just a little weird. He looked down and checked his watch.

"Oh great, I'm late again. Kasaan will be worried." He hitched up his rucksack and jogged the rest of the way home.

"Kasaan, I'm home," Kurama called through the house.

"Suuichi, you're late…..again." Shiori walked into the hallway to face her son. "I really wish you would tell me what's going on."

Kurama felt a pang of guilt, as he did every time his 'mother' brought up the subject of telling the truth. He just was worried that his mother wouldn't accept that her son was a demon and reject him. "Of course kasaan. I just took a little detour in the park on my way home. I'm sorry to have worried you."

"Suuichi, of course I forgive you, just know you can talk to me about anything, alright?"

"Yes kasaan. I have a lot of homework to do, is it alright if I go upstairs?" Shiori nodded, and Kurama headed up the stairs to his room.

He took a seat at his desk and pulled out his Chemistry textbook. He was just recording the valance of mercury when he heard a tap on his window.

"It's unlocked Hiei." Kurama didn't even have to look up to know it was his door-challenged friend.

"Hn," came a voice from the window. "Are you doing that stupid ningen thing again?"

"You mean homework? Yes, well it makes kasaan happy when I get good grades, so yes."

"Hn."

Looking back at his half-finished chemistry worksheet, he said, "Hiei, I really can't spar right now, I have to finish this."

"Who said anything about sparring?"

"You, whenever you come over here it's because you want to spar or have an injury. You know it hurts that you only come over here out of selfish reasons. I mean can't two friends ever do anything what's the word…fun?" Kurama turned around so Hiei wouldn't see him smiling, because, of course, he was only joking.

"Hn. Well this time the bakas are having some stupid meeting. They think that they can just order me around like a messenger boy." Hiei growled menacingly.

"Great, just what I need, another mission."

"Kurama, you're doing that other ningen thing."

"What, sarcasm?" He paused for a moment. "Do you think that this is creepy?"

"What?"

"The fact that I can tell what you're talking about most of the time."

"No."

Sighing, Kurama packed up his homework. "I guess I will meet you at Yusuke's then?"

"I never said it was at the baka's house."

"And I thought you said that it wasn't creepy."

"Hey Kurama, know what I'm going to say next?"

"No."

"Me neither." And with that he was off.

Kurama laughing lightly picked up his rucksack, put an extra pair of clothes in it, and headed down to the first floor. "Kasaan, I'm going to spend the night at Yusuke's. Is that alright with you?"

"I don't know Suuichi, what about your schoolwork?"

"Don't worry kasaan, I'm going to help Yusuke with his homework, and besides its Friday."

"Suuichi you know how I feel about that Urameshi boy." Shiori didn't know why she was denying her son, but she just had a bad feeling.

"Kasaan, Yusuke's alright, he's just a little stressed out. He's got a lot on his plate at the moment."

"Well, I guess it's alright. I'll see you tomorrow then honey. Be careful, I love you." Shiori kissed her son lightly on the cheek.

"I love you too. I'll see you tomorrow." Kurama pulled on his shoes and began walking to Yusuke's house.

Twenty minutes late he arrived finding that he was the last one to arrive.

"Sorry I'm late guys."

"Well now that fox-boy is finally here we can start." Yusuke stood up. "According to pacifier-breath there's a new demon on the loose. Apparently he's really strong and has been pigging out on humans. He's a mongoose and is in the middle A-class. Oh yeah and his name is Shintaro."

"Yusuke, you are awful at giving speeches. You keep bouncing around all of the information, making it more confusing for…ahem, 'certain' teamates."

Yusuke looked at Kurama, and for a second had a flash-back of the bloody form that haunted his dreams the night before. But he forced the image out of his mind and stuck his tongue out at the redhead.

"Well thanks Kurama. That's just what I needed, more lectures."

"Sorry."

"I say we face him head-on!" Kuwabara, if you couldn't tell, was not the smartest one in the bunch.

"Hn, that sounds like a perfect plan…to get us all killed! Baka."

"Watch it shrimp."

"If you two can't stop acting like idiots you're not coming at all." Yusuke got to the point this time. "According to Koenma this guy's a real coward, so if we all jump in he'll just high-tail it outta there. We need to come up with a better strategy." Yusuke turned to the former thief, knowing he would have already come up with something.

True enough, Kurama already formulating a plan said, "With that in mind one of us, preferably Kuwabara, should get his attention, while the rest of us sneak around and surround him."

"Hey! Why do I have to be the bait!"

"Hn. One, because Kurama told you to. Two, because you don't look like much of a threat, so he won't be afraid of you. Three, because you are physically incapable of stalking the enemy."

"And four, because I'll pummel you if you don't." Though Kuwabara didn't like to admit it, Yusuke could probably do just that without much trouble.

So, he grumbled, but didn't complain further.

"So where can we find this demon?"

"The toddler said he'd call when he had a lock of Shintaro's location."

"So then I guess that means we wait."

"Yup." Yusuke flopped down onto the couch.

_Two hours later_

Kuwabara snored loudly on the chair in the corner, while Hiei sat on the windowsill, trying to resist the urge to decapitate the baka. Kurama, who had long finished his homework, was reading The Iliad by Homer. Yusuke was playing Tetris on his television, as he had played Halo for the 90 minutes straight.

"ENOUGH!" Hiei couldn't take it anymore! He sprinted to the kitchen and came back, pouring cold water all over the sleeping form of Kuwabara.

"Huh! What?" Kuwabara's eyes narrowed as he fixed his gaze on Hiei. "You little coward! Attacking a guy in his sleep!"

"You were making enough noise to wake the dead. And I'm no coward, I wasn't attacking you….I was giving you a bath. Or haven't you noticed, you smell like rotting eggs!"

While Yusuke and Kurama were trying hard to suppress their laughter, Kuwabara was attempting to catch Hiei…and failing miserably.

"Greetings." Koenma appeared on the television screen.

"Pacifier-breath! I was going for a high-score!"

"Shut up Yusuke. I've got a lock on the mongoose."

"About time."

Koenma chose to ignore this and kept on talking. "Oddly enough, it's at the same place where you met Kurama, Hiei, and Gouki. I guess the middle of the woods is just a demon hot spot."

"Yeah, yeah. We got it. We're going."

"Be careful team, this guy's tough when he gets into a corner."

"Thanks for the advice o mighty one."

"Watch your mo-" Koenma was cut off by Hiei turning off the television.

"Enough, we've wasted enough time already."

_So how was it? Was it long enough? I'm trying my best but if it sucks please tell me! Thanks for reviewing!_


	3. Clash!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except OC's. (Forgot about this part) oops

Responses to Reviewers:

…….. NO REVIEWS! Just a little upsetting starts foaming at the mouth and beats computer with a stick. Oops, just a little crazy there. Ya, cause it's a little annoying to have as many reviews as there are chapters. Ok, if I don't get any reviews…..no updates for you! But this time I'll be nice and post.

Alright, here goes nothing.

------

"Oh ho! I would like to point out that that was not me."

"For once, I gotta hand it to ya shorty."

"Hn. Like I said, enough time has been wasted."

"Then let's go."

The team was of. Twice Yusuke tried to start a conversation, but he was silenced both times with looks from either Kurama or Hiei. With a demon this powerful the element of surprise was their best bet. When they were about two hundred yards from the glade Kurama stopped them.

"This is where we part ways. Kuwabara, head straight to where you feel his energy. Do not make any noise, because if Shintaro hears you he may just blast you before you even get there. Alright, Hiei head to the left, and Yusuke and I will go to the right. We'll split up on the way and I'll get behind him. I'll signal you when it's time to attack."

"What's the signal?"

"Oh, you'll know. It is imperative that you stay as silent as possible. Kuwabara we'll be behind you all the way, but try to lull him into a false sense of security. If he starts beating you up too badly we'll step in, but remember, we are waiting for the opportune moment."

"Yeah, okay."

"Let's go."

The team separated.

_Ten Minutes Later_

"Hey ugly, I hear that you think you're the big demon on the streets."

Shintaro looked up. "Really? Because last time I checked I was the demon, you were the pathetic human, and you were the ugly one."

Indeed he was telling the truth, for Shintaro was quite the looker. He was sleek and tall, Brown boots came up until just below his knee. Where the boots stopped, light yellow leggings began. Behind him was a long tan tail that was twitching like a cat's. His tunic was a paler yellow than his leggings. It was embroidered with gold thread in the shape of, what else, a mongoose. His face was handsome, if only a little pointed. He had dark blue eyes and dark brown hair that reached a little below his shoulders. Two small tan, rounded ears poked through his hair. He lifted up a hand and Kuwabara saw that his fingernails were more like small black claws.

Kuwabara looked his opponent up and down. 'Yeah, maybe this guy is tougher than he looks. His energy is crazy high.'

"I'd like to see you land a punch on me pretty boy!" Kuwabara seemed to have hit a nerve. Shintaro looked up, his eyes blazing.

"Nobody calls me that. Especially not big ugly, cantankerous humans." Shintaro had had enough. He charged.

Kurama started. 'Now!' He cupped his hands and blew into them, hooting like an owl.

"Guess that must be the signal." Yusuke shifted slightly so that he could see the back of the mongoose. He concentrated his energy on his right index finger, and it began to get warm. When he had collected enough energy, he aimed and fired at Shintaro's back.

Shntaro was just about to let Kuwabara have it when he felt a large amout of energy coming straight at him. He instinctively side-stepped and the rei blast headed straight at Kuwabara. The orange-haired teen yelped and scrambled out of the way. The ball of energy hit a nearby tree, destroying it and three others. Yusuke stepped out into the clearing.

"Oh ho! Trying to sneak up on me eh? Well you'll have to wake up much earlier to trick this demon!"

A blur came up behind him, hitting the mongoose in the back of the head with the hilt of his sword.

"Really?"

Shintaro was furious. "All of you are as good as dead."

A familiar whip snaked out from the trees behind Shintaro. It wrapped around his abdomen and shredded his tunic.

"It would not appear that way." Shintaro looked around. He was surrounded, and a shadow of panic was evident in his navy eyes.

"Wondrous, four against one, excellent odds." The same black blur appeared again behind the demon, this time with its sword drawn. Unluckily for Hiei Shintaro was prepared.

Using speed that he had not shown the tantei before, the hunted demon snatched Hiei out of the air and chucked him at Yusuke. With no time to react both of them went tumbling with a considerable amount of speed. Unable to untangle themselves they hit a tree with quite a lot of force. Both Hiei and Yusuke were dazed and incapacitated for the time being.

Turning back to the fight, Shintaro grinned. "Anyone else wanna have a go?"

Kurama answered without words. Lashing out with his rose whip, he aimed for Shintaro's head.

Four inches from his face the demon caught the whip in his hand without flinching. Sharply jerking the whip, Shintaro flung the redhead into the other detectives.

Seeing that he was the only one left Kuwabara decided to charge the enemy while he still had his back turned.

But sadly, Shintaro was, once again, two steps ahead of the spirit detectives.

Catching Kuwabara's punch, he twisted the young human's arm behind his back. He then pulled out a dagger that was concealed in his boot and put it to Kuwabara's throat.

By this time Hiei, Yusuke, and Kurama had recovered and were standing, weapons raised.

"None of you move or the human gets it."

"Lemme go and fight me like a man you overgrown muskrat!" Kuwabara was outraged at the fact that he was now leverage against his friends. He was squirming in Shintaro's vice-like grip, trying to free himself but failing miserably.

The mongoose only tightened his grip and growled, "Stop wriggling and maybe I'll let you live, but keep moving and I'll strangle you."

Kuwabara stopped struggling and fell limp in the demons arms.

"You, shorty, sheathe that sword and get rid of it."

Hiei didn't move.

"Maybe you didn't hear me. Put down your weapon or your friend dies." To emphasize his point, Shintaro drew a small line of blood from Kuwabara's neck.

Hiei hesitated for a moment, but, finding no other way around it, sheathed his sword.

"Good, now toss it to the side."

Against his better judgment the fire apparition cast his weapon to his left, it landed twenty yards away.

"Now redhead, turn that nasty whip of yours back in to a flower." Shintaro was obviously loving his new control over the tantei.

Kurama, whose mind was racing furiously, could not come up with any other solution. He retracted his whip back into its original form.

"Now, destroy it."

Still unable to do anything else but obey the murderer who had a death-grip on his friend, the fox relented. He dropped the rose and crushed it under his foot.

"Is this really the infamous Rekai Tantei that I've heard so much about? The team that defeated the Toguro brother? It's kind of disappointing really." Shintaro sneered at the team.

_Fox, have any bright ideas?_

_Just one, but don't pay attention to me, just get Kuwabara so we can fight him._

_Hn._

All of a sudden Kurama started to convulse. His body twitched furiously. He gave out a yell as if in pain, but it was choked of a moment later. Then the kitsune started to wheeze. First it only sounded like he had done too much running, but soon it got worse. He struggled for breath that wouldn't come. He fell to his knees, breathing raggedly.

The fox's sudden seizure had the attention of almost everyone in the clearing.

"What did you do to him you bastard?" Yusuke could only watch as one of his closest friends appeared to be dying. He was torn. He didn't know what to do, which friend to save. He reasoned that he probably couldn't help Kurama even if he did get over to him, so he stood his ground.

"Nothing, but isn't it fun to watch? I wonder how long he'll last."

"Longer than you!" Hiei appeared on Shintaro's shoulder. He wrenched the dagger away out of his hand, causing the iron-grip that was held on Kuwabara to slacken. The orange-haired boy seized his chance and freed himself. Once he hit the ground he scrambled away from the two demons. Hiei jumped down from the mongoose and appeared next to Kurama's, who had stopped the act, side.

"Whoa, what's going on! Kurama weren't you just dying?"

Yusuke wasn't the only one that was confused, Kuwabara and Shintaro were looking lost too.

Kurama smiled. "It's called a diversion, the oldest trick in the book."

Shintaro was outraged. 'He had been defeated by a mere diversion! He would show them!' The mongoose stretched out his hands and earth began to collect in his outstretched palms.

"I don't believe we discussed this, but I am a master at controlling earth." The two balls of dirt that he was holding sharpened into twin scythes. "Prepare for your destruction fools!"

"Well we've got a few tricks of out own. Dragon of the Darkness Flame!" Hiei summoned his dragon with one hand.

"Rei Gun!" Yusuke and Hiei inadvertently let their deadly attacks loose at precisely the same moment. They merged, crackling with energy that was powerful enough to defeat even the mighty King Enma. The combined force rocketed directly at Shintaro. The mongoose did not have time to move and took at direct hit from the devastating attack. After the smoke cleared the team could still see him standing. He turned to face the detectives but never made it. He crumbled into dust.

"All right! We got him!"

"You fool, do normal demons turn into dirt when they are defeated?"

"Hiei is right. I fear what this might mean. Shintaro was a master at controlling earth remember?"

"Very clever." The real Shintaro walked out into the clearing. "It's called 'Earth Clone Technique'. Now I have the advantage."


	4. The True Shintaro

Own nothing………cept OCs

Responses to my SWEET Reviewers:

Kahuffstix- no offense but do you write that for every story? I mean it's fine if it is but can you give me some tips in your reviews!

Red Kitsune Flames: Thank you thank you thank you! It took me a while to think of something smart for him to do. Because we ningens do not have the amazing intellect of Kurama, I needed some time to think of something worthy of the fox. Well sort of. Haha

Jazi: Mongooses are sweet……so are muskrats! Haha Thanks for reviewing. I'm updating as soon as possible but basketball season has started up again (urg) and I have 2 or 3 hour practices a night.

Lonelyfox: Whoa calm down there! My advice is to not eat sugar raw…….then you won't go crazy….well crazy isn't bad. I'm glad you reviewed for the last chapter, and please do the same for this one!

Kajihenge Yoko: I had to try a real cliffy. Not like the stinky one in the first chapter. I'm glad you like it!

I feel so loved!

Keep reviewing!

Ok on with the show!

"What!" Yusuke was fuming. "All this time we've only been fighting a clone?"

"A clone with only one-third of my power. While you were fighting 'me', I was hidden in the leaves, learning your techniques. You see, now I have the upper hand."

"You've been hiding like a coward this whole time? I can't stand vermin like you! You murder innocent humans and you fight without honor."

"Your words burn me." Shintaro's own words dripped with sarcasm. "You see if you could barely defeat a mere clone, what makes you think that you can defeat the real thing?"

"This!" Hiei appeared to the left of the real Shintaro, sword drawn, preparing to behead him.

Shintaro smirked. "So it begins."

He snatched Hiei's sword are and wrenched his weapon from the fire apparition's grasp. He punched the small demon in the stomach with such force that flecks of blood spurted from his mouth. But Shintaro was not through with him yet. The mongoose demon summoned a ball of orange energy and fired it straight at Hiei's face. The blast sent him flying back into a clump of trees. He made a large trench in the ground and Kurama, with his good hearing, could swear that he heard a few bones crack. When the dust cleared, Hiei lay on the ground unmoving.

"Bastard!" Yusuke was stunned despite the situation. Kurama never swore.

However the redhead was not paying attention to the young detective. One of his closest friends had gotten hurt because of his miscalculation, his error. That was unacceptable.

Once more Kurama struck out with his rose whip, and once more Shintaro was ready.

"This again?" Shintaro caught the whip and jerked Kurama towards him. The fox flew forward but flipped in midair. While still flying towards the mongoose, Kurama landed a blow straight in his face. The redhead somersaulted backwards perfectly fifteen feet from Shintaro.

"Hahaha. You actually gave me an injury. It's been quite a while since someone has done that. I congratulate you."

"Congratulate this!" Kurama lashed at Shintaro one final time.

The whip caught the mongoose around the ankles, tearing at is flesh. But Shintaro only smiled.

"Take this on for size." The mongoose forced his energy into the earth around him and hurled it at Kurama. The mass of dirt formed a cocoon around the redhead, effectively trapping him and cutting off his air.

"This time he'll really be dying."

"Kurama!" Yusuke sprinted over to his fallen friend while Kuwabara rushed Shintaro.

Yusuke knelt down next to the mass of earth that was, supposedly, Kurama. He tried scratching the dirt off but the packed earth was not budging. Inside, Yusuke could hear the fox's muffled attempts to free himself. Unable to think of any other solution, the teen powered up.

"Sorry Kurama." Yusuke fired. Well it did destroy the prison of earth, but it didn't benefit the old demon at all. The redhead was face down on the ground, his clothes smoking. Yusuke checked his pulse to find that he was only unconscious.

Yusuke turned back to the fight. Shintaro, having thrashed Kuwabara soundly, tossed him to the side. Seeing that Hiei was still down, and that Kuwabara was not getting up any time soon, Yusuke acknowledged that it was a one-on-one fight.

"It's just you and me now detective. Do you want to surrender? If you're as weak as your pathetic teammates I would recommend just lying down."

"If I had a dollar for every time I heard that, I'd be rich."

"Fine. Have it your way."

Yusuke was pissed beyond belief. His friends were hurt and this guy was toying with him! He would pay. Big time.

"Take this!" Yusuke charged and Shintaro took up a defensive stance. At the last second Yusuke kicked up a cloud of dust in the mongoose's face. He leapt into the air and landed neatly behind Shintaro. He collected all of the energy that he had left and fired it at the demon's back. The shot was true, and hit Shintaro in the small of his back.

"A master of controlling dirt, huh? All talk, that's what you are. It's blah blah blah and then you get your butt whooped!"

"Oh really?" The smoke cleared to reveal a slightly burnt, panting, but still very much alive Shintaro. "I am still the master of earth, mud, dust, and sand. You've just made me very angry, and now you're out of energy. Since you have no respect for my capabilities, I will just have to show you my real power!"

The mongoose forced four large clots of earth at the young detective. They stretched and sharpened, and pinned Yusuke to the ground. He struggled, trying to free himself, but to no avail. He tried using the very last of his energy to blast the dirt away as well, but found that that had the same results.

You'll find that quite impossible. The earth in this entire glade is filled with my energy. Your energy, on the other hand, is trapped inside you. You can't fight back. It's just you and me; your worthless friends will not be waking up any time soon."

"You'll get yours you bastard!"

"Let's see, first I'll fix that smart mouth of yours." Shintaro flicked his wrist, and a band of earth covered Yusuke's mouth and nose, cutting off his air supply. His body arched, unable to do anything else. His eyes bulged for want of precious oxygen, and hazy yellow spots danced before his vision. Just as Yusuke was about to pass out the cruel mongoose released him from the "muzzle."

Yusuke panted and gulped down the air that his body so desperately needed.

"Now, is your mouth feeling any cleaner?"

"Only dirty like you, filth!" Yusuke's will was not something to be taken lightly.

"I take it that that was a no. Well then I'll have to take another approach." He swiftly kicked the young detective in the jaw. Yusuke coughed and spit out blood. "Do your worst. You couldn't break me even if you tried."

"We stilled haven't cleaned it out yet, I guess you are in need of more treatment." Another kick to the face. Then more to his torso. Shintaro wouldn't stop. He seemed to be on a bloodlust, and Yusuke was the victim.

The mongoose was so absorbed in his cruel "lessons" that he did not notice a certain someone waking up.

Kurama groaned as consciousness returned to him. He sat up slowly and shook his head to clear his vision. When his eyesight cleared, he saw something that made his blood boil. Yusuke was fastened to the ground and Shintaro was beating him ruthlessly. To attack someone who was completely helpless…….well he knew that tune. Memories of Bakken arose in his head. But last time the positions were reversed. It was time he returned Yusuke the favor.

Standing up he drew his twin Grass Swords.

"Mongoose, your fight is with me now." Shintaro looked up.

"Ah, you're awake red. Good, cause this one isn't fun anymore." He motioned at Yusuke whose consciousness had long since fled him.

Kurama was seething. "Shintaro let's finish this!"

"I was thinking the same thing." He summoned his twin Scythes of Earth. "A dual to the death. No interferences."

"Agreed."

Shintaro flared out his energy and pushed Kurama's teammates to the side and restrained them with more bands of earth.

"Begin!"

The two began circling each other. After they had sized each other up for a good five minutes, Shintaro decided to take the offensive.

He struck out with his scythes and Kurama parried. Both possessed super human speed, as neither of them were, well, human.

They were locked in a dance of death, beautiful and cruel all at the same time. One wrong move would result in the destruction of either. Kurama excelled with any weapons, having a thousand years to practice, but Shintaro was matching him move-for-move. He needed to gain the upper hand. Parry, strike, twist. The fight was going no where. The two were evenly matched. That is, until Shintaro decided to take the match into his won hands, or well, erm, claws. He forced his energy into the ground behind Kurama creating a ditch. Kurama, expected a fair fight, did not foresee something like this to happen. He tripped on it and the mongoose took his advantage. He struck out with both of his scythes and sliced at the old fox.

Kurama felt fiery lances of pain in both his left arm and right side. But, as a master thief, he was also a master at concealing his pain. Standing back up, the redhead found he could only use his right hand, as the wound to his arm was too deep, rendering it useless.

Behind the two demons the rest of the Rekai Tantei were waking up. Hiei and Kuwabara woke up before Yusuke, but the young teen was not too far behind them. When they did wake up, though, the first thing they did was start struggling.

"Hey Kur-" Yusuke tried to cal out to his friend, but was hushed by Hiei. "What gives?"

"You fool," Hiei whispered, "do you see the way they're fighting? If Kurama looses focus for even a moment his death would be eminent."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Kuwabara followed Hiei's example and lowered his voice. Hiei, watching one of his only friends battle for his life, didn't know what to do. For on of the first times during his life, the fire apparition's crimson eyes were filled with worry for the old fox.

"No."

A/N: Dun dun dun! What will become of Kurama and the team? Well, you can decide. Leave comments on what you think should happen and I'll see what I can do.

Peace, Love, and Chocolate Mousse,

MightyMongoose (I totally did not mean to make it rhyme.


	5. The Price of Friendship

Hey guys!

I don't think I'm allowed to write responses to reviewers here, so reviewers will receive emails, so keep it up!

This chapter was hard to write! I hope it's up to standards, if not please tell me and I'll be sure to at least try to fix them.

Alright, I'm sure you're sick of me talking, so on with the story!

"An honorable fighter would put down one of his weapons to make it a fair fight."

"Honor means nothing. It's your own fault that you lack the strength to hold up your own sword."

Kurama's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

Shintaro charged again. He started a vicious onslaught with both scythes, but Kurama was holding up quite well with only one sword, and that angered Shintaro to no end. He decided to go even lower than low.

He leapt into the air and aimed a blow at the fox's head. The redhead instinctively blocked, but Shintaro had something else in mind. The mongoose changed his course in mid-air and landed a sharp kick to the kitsune's injured side.

Kurama gasped as white-hot agony shot up his right side. The pain was so intense that it forced him to let go of his remaining Grass Sword.

"KURAMA!" Yusuke's yell was lost upon the injured fox's ears.

Shintaro took no notice of the detective's outburst either as he headed towards the redhead.

Without losing another moment, Shintaro slid his scythe into Kurama's stomach. The demon fox choked back a scream but a small cry still managed to escape his lips.

Pleading green eyes locked onto cold navy one, but, Shintaro's heart was too cold to be affected by such displays.

He cruelly twisted the scythe before roughly jerking it out.

Kurama, unable to remain strong any longer, let out a pain filled scream. His knees buckled, and his vision swam. Blood streamed down his battered body, soaking his tunic, turning it a deep red.

"No!" This time the cry came from Hiei. The mongoose had gone too far. He thrashed around wildly in his bindings, trying to get to his friend's side.

"Are you talking about this piece of trash?" Shintaro kicked Kurama, causing him to completely fall over. The old fox lay on his side, the blood from his wounds pooling around him.

"Don't touch him!" Yusuke's voice was but a low growl.

"I'd like to remind you of your current position. You are at my mercy young detective, and I don't recommend that you test me."

"You're just mad because Kurama could have beaten you if you had a drop of honor in your veins. You act like you're the mightiest demon, but if you can't fight fair, then you're nothing but a scared child!" This really got under Shintaro's skin.

"I'm warning you detective, one more word."

"I'm shaking."

"Fine. Have it your way." Shintaro reached into an inside pocket to reveal— a needle.

"Wow. I'm petrified."

"You will be. You see, this little beauty is doused in a special little potion of mine. No amount of healing can fix it. It thins the blood, making clotting impossible. With a single wound, you would bleed out in two to four weeks. The side effects are also quite fun to witness. You are going to be my new test subject spirit detective."

While Shintaro was still going on about the poison, Kurama was struggling to his feet. He was not about to let **his** friend suffer such a death.

"Are you ready for your demise detective?" Shintaro started towards the tethered Yusuke, brandishing the needle. Upon reaching the restrained team, the mongoose felt something large and wet bowl him over.

Shintaro lost his balance and fell, hitting his head on a stone.

"All right Kurama!" But the kitsune wasn't listening. Instead he was gazing intently at his right hand. "Yo man. Are you okay?"

Kurama just looked at him. With the last of his energy, the old demon raised his hand. More that one gasp was audible as, deeply imbedded in the redhead's flesh was the needle. He promptly passed out.

Shintaro, only being dazed for a moment, quickly regained his feet.

"Aww red, you're being noble. Well with his wounds he won't last a week." He started laughing maliciously.

This was the spark that started the wildfire, as Yusuke's fury was unleashed.

His energy radiating off him waves, the young detective obliterated the earth that bound him and his friends to the ground.

Faster than he had ever moved before, Yusuke seized Shintaro's throat.

"There has to be an antidote! Tell me where it is."

"Go – to hell." Shintaro's face was turning blue.

"If you value your life, you'll tell me where it is."

"And if you want to know—you let me go."

Yusuke released him, but pointed his Rei Gun at his face. Hiei, moving slower because of his broken ribs, put his sword to the fallen mongoose's neck.

"Now talk!" But Shintaro merely laughed. Hiei's eyes narrowed into slits. "You clearly do not understand the severity of the situation that you are currently in, mongoose." The demon continued to laugh.

"Do you want to know why I'm laughing? It's at you. The poison is called Rasputine, but you'll have a hell of a time finding the antidote."

"Where is it?" Hiei's sword inched closer to Shintaro's throat.

"Wouldn't you like to know!"

"Yes I would." Trying to come up with a way to make the mongoose talk, Hiei kicked Shintaro full in the face.

A line of blood dribbled from the corner of the demon's mouth.

"Well I'm not going to tell you." Shintaro snatched at Hiei's katana, grabbing the blade. Though the metal sliced at his hands, Shintaro wrenched the weapon away from the fire apparition and hit him behind the jaw. By hitting his pressure point the mongoose caused Hiei's eyes to roll up into the back of his head. The small demon fell to the ground, his mind reeling.

Shintaro sliced at Kuwabara as well. The sword wedged itself in the teen's knee, cracking it. The orange-haired boy howled in pain and fell, unable to balance on one leg.

"This is it Shintaro. You are going to tell me where to find this Rasputine or you're dead."

"Even if I did tell you, it wouldn't make a difference. You won't get your hands on it either way."

"Try me."

"Let's see…..no."

"Fine have it your way." Yusuke gathered energy from the trees and other life around him.

"I don't think so detective." Shintaro gathered orange energy in his left palm.

Both fighters let their immense energy loose at the same time. A huge explosion resulted. After the smoke had cleared, both Yusuke and Shintaro were down.

The teen groaned as he sat up. A sharp pain shot through his right shoulder. He looked down and saw a large, pointed rock imbedded there. Yusuke pulled it out and the gash bled sluggishly.

The spirit detective stood up and walked over the rubble to where Shintaro was lying.

The mongoose definitely looked worse for wear. His once flawless face was covered in bruises and burns. His hair was disheveled, and where they weren't ripped, his clothes were bloody and smoking.

Yusuke kicked Shintaro once in the side and the demon's eyes fluttered open. He weakly tried to sit up, but found that he could not. The young detective realized that the mongoose was not long for this world, and got to the point.

"What is the antidote!"

"Never." Giving Yusuke one final menacing look, he passed out of the living world and into Rekai.

"NO!" As Shintaro's soul fled Ningenkai, so did Kurama's last chance. Coming up with no other thoughts the chocolate-eyed teen decided to get his teammates someplace safe.

He pulled out his Communication Mirror, and Botan appeared on the screen.

"Yusuke you look terrible! But I guess that is to be suspected after your tough mission. By the way congratulations, Shintaro's spirit is here and he is being dealt with as we speak."

"Botan, can you pick us up? Kurama's in pretty bad shape and I don't think any of us have the strength to get him to Genkai's.

"Of course! I'm on my way." Yusuke pocketed the Communication Mirror and went to go wake up Hiei.

"Hiei….Hiei wake up!" The fire apparition's eyes shot open and he quickly sat up. He immediately regretted has actions. Pain and nausea swept over his senses, making him feel sick. However, he soon regained his steely composure and looked over at Shintaro's dead body.

"I take it we won." Then he remembered. "The Rasputine, what's the antidote?" Yusuke hung his head.

"He wouldn't tell me. He died still smirking about it."

"You mean now we don't know where to find it! You idiot! How is Kurama going to survive if you killed the only one who knows where it is!"

"I…don't know. Let's just wake up Kuwabara. Botan's coming, and maybe we can take him to Yukina so she can try to heal him."

"Didn't you hear the mongoose? Only the antidote can save him."

"Don't you think I know that?" Yusuke turned his face towards Hiei, his chocolate eyes shining with unshed tears. "Don't you think I know that it's my fault? The poison was meant for me, and now Kurama's infected with it!"

The fire apparition's gaze softened, but he didn't know how to comfort the distraught teen. He was saved, however, by the arrival of Botan on her oar.

The Deity of Death gasped and rushed to the team's side.

"Botan, we need to get Kurama to Yukina now!"

"Yes, yes. But someone has to carry him. He can't balance on my oar if he's unconscious."

Yusuke bent over and scooped the old fox into his arms. One hand supported his back, and the other held him under the redhead's knees.

"But Yusuke, your shoulder!"

"So what? If Kurama could save me with all of those wounds, then I can sure as hell do this one thing for him."

Botan jumped back onto her oar and Yusuke sat down on it gently.

"Hold on tight." Yusuke wrapped one arm around the fox's waist, and held onto the oar with the other.

"I'm trusted you with him Yusuke. He'd better still be alive by the time I get there."

"No worries." The trio rose up into the air and sailed off in the direction of Genkai's temple.

(A/N: Poor Kurama! Please review with comments on the Rasputine. I would like to thank my friend Alfred for the name of that one, but I still need ideas for where to find it. I'm not sure where this story is going next, so the more you review, the quicker the update!)

¡Adiós!

MightyMongoose


	6. The Antidote

Hey guys,

Yes I know, I know! I long overdue update! I am very sorry, but I actually do have a good reason. Well, due to the end of the semester coming up, teachers have been piling on the workload. And, as if that wasn't enough, basketball has been becoming increasingly more difficult. Poo. I will try my hardest to update quicker in the future. Please forgive me, to err is human, and sadly, that is all I am.

Reviews are always welcome, and they make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

On with the show!

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Botan landed softly in the field in front of the old psychic's home, and Yusuke carefully dismounted, mindful of Kurama's many wounds.

They walked into the main room, where Genkai was currently meditating.

"Master Genkai, please help Kurama, he's not doing to well, and needs healing." Yusuke still hadn't told Botan about the Rasputine.

"Lay him on the futon." Yusuke obliged, and crossed the room to put the old fox down.

"Hey, Master Genkai, have you ever heard of Rasputine?"

"No," The old woman knelt down next to the ailing kitsune, preparing to heal him.

"No stop! Kurama's infected with something called Rasputine, and Shintaro said that healing him won't help."

"Well it can't hurt him either. Let's see if this Shintaro was bluffing or not." Genkai summoned energy and attempted to heal the redhead.

Immediately she was thrown back, and Kurama's eyes shot open. The fox let out a pain filled moan and shivered, as if cold. However, the next moment, he stopped. Kurama blinked and took in his surroundings.

"How did we get here?"

"Botan came to get us and—oh crap! We forgot Hiei and Kuwabara! They're gonna kill me!"

"I'm on it." Botan summoned her oar again, and sailed out through the window.

After she left, Kurama noticed that the spirit detective was bleeding.

"Yusuke, your shoulder will need to be tended too."

The young detective had almost forgotten about the gash in his shoulder. "I'm fine."

"No you're not. Without treatment it will become infected." Everyone looked up to see that Yukina had entered. "But first, I'll need to bandage up Kurama."

The redhead had passed out again, and Yukina removed his tunic to bandage his wounds. The damage taken to his abdomen looked like it was the worst of them, but his forearm and calf would need to be looked at as well.

"I suppose you heard that Kurama was poisoned and cannot be healed."

Yukina blinked. "No, I just assumed that since you did not heal him, Master Genkai, it was not the best option."

The old psychic smiled. "I knew there was a reason that I took up an apprentice. You're a whole lot better than that idiot over there."

"Thanks grandma—hey Yukina have you ever heard of Rasputine?"

The ice maiden's eyes furrowed in concentration; "I'm sorry, I don't think I've ever heard of it."

"I can't believe you forgot us Urameshi! I mean, shorty I can understand, but me?...Yukina-san! Did you miss me?" Kuwabara attempted to stand up, but with his injured knee he came crashing to the ground.

"Kuwabara-kun!" Yukina rushed over to the teen and healed his kneecap.

"Thanks Yukina-san, you're the best."

"Of course." The demoness walked over to Yusuke and tried to heal his shoulder; until he grabbed her wrist.

"I don't deserve it. Heal Hiei instead." Yukina looked puzzled for a moment, but nodded and walked over to the fire apparition. Instead of letting his sister mend his broken ribs, Hiei held up his hand.

"I'm fine."

"Stop this macho act, both of you! We can't heal Kurama anyways, so denying help will not get you anywhere." Genkai stood up and repaired the relenting Yusuke's shoulder, while Yukina took care of Hiei.

"Now why don't you tell us what happened."

"Long story short. Got into a fight with the mongoose, Shintaro. After about ten minutes of us losing, Kurama got poisoned with the Rasputine. Let's see…..then we kicked Shintaro's ass, but he wouldn't tell us where to find the antidote."

"Did he mention any symptoms?" Everyone turned to look at the ice maiden. She blushed. "Just so we know what to expect."

"Umm." Yusuke wracked his brains, trying to remember exactly what the mongoose had said.

"He said that it thins the blood, and that he would bleed out within a week. I believe he also said, 'The side effects are also quite fun to witness,' meaning that it can't be anything good."

They were all silent until Kurama showed signs of waking up.

The redhead slowly opened his eyes to see that the entire gang was looking back at him.

"Well I seem to be the center of attention." He tried to sit up, but found that he could not without the aid of Yusuke.

"Hey Kurama, have you ever heard of Rasputine?"

"Hmm. I think I have, hold on for a minute." Kurama's mind slid backwards. He remembered awful pictures of demons that could not stop bleeding, and died slow, horrific deaths.

"Yes, the victim cannot stop bleeding and eventually did. Let me guess, this is what I am currently infected with. Nods from Yusuke, Hiei, and Kuwabara were all that he needed. "Let me think…..an antidote for Rasputine….I know. I have never actually come upon it, but I am certain that Taiya Weed is the antidote….forgive me, but that is all I know."

"Taiya Weed……from Makai I assume?" Kurama nodded at the koorime. "I'll find it."

"Hiei take this," Yusuke handed him his Communication Mirror. "You'll need it in case you need to call us."

With a nod of thanks, the fire apparition became a black blur. As he would have said, 'Enough time has been wasted.'

"Someone will need to call my kasaan. She will be w-w-worried." The old fox swayed and fell back, unceremoniously back onto the futon, unconscious.

"Idiot, why weren't you supporting his back! He's got enough wounds already!"

"I know, I know." Yusuke grabbed a spare blanket, and carefully covered Kurama with it.

On the other side of the room, Genkai was looking up 'Suuichi's' home phone number. She picked up the phone and called his house.

"Mrs. Minamino?"

"This is Winly Kantorek from the Young Scientist's group. Your son Suuichi has been selected to undergo training dealing in Microbiology. He will be staying in Yokohama for about two weeks. I apologize for the late notice."

"Thank you very much."

"Goodbye."

Upon seeing the group goggling at her, she chuckled. "Yes well sometimes it is necessary to come up with a convincing story in a matter of seconds. I've had years of practice."

"That, I'll believe."

"Shut up dimwit."

Yusuke's punk demeanor melted into a concerned one as he looked down onto Kurama's lifeless form. He noticed that the stark-white bandages covering the kitsune's torso were beginning to turn a dark red.

"Hey Yukina, it looks like Kurama's gonna need some new bandages soon."

Genkai raised a hand. "I have an idea. The Rasputine keeps Kurama's blood from clotting on its own, right? But, it can't stop an outside force from forming a barrier to keep his blood in for him." Noting puzzled looks from Yusuke and Kuwabara, she kept going. "In simpler terms; since Kurama can't keep his blood in by himself, maybe the bandages will keep the blood in for him."

"It's worth a try."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

While Yusuke and the others were attempting to help the ailing fox demon, Hiei was trying to find a portal to Makai.

He undid the bandanna covering his third eye in order to use the Jagan to find the portal. The Jagan glowed for a moment, searching the entire city. After scanning for a minute or two, Hiei found the closest door to demon world; behind a bush in one of the cities many parks.

Becoming the, oh so familiar, black blur, Hiei arrived at the park only moments later.

"Oh perfect. There just had to be ningens about." He slunk back to the portal when something stopped him.

"Hey mister, what are you doing back here in the bushes?" Hiei turned around to see a little girl with pigtails looking at him. "And why—AHH!" She had just noticed his Jagan and gone off screaming for her mother.

The fire demon rolled his eyes and tied his bandanna back on. He put one foot through the portal when he remembered. He was on probation, meaning that he was not permitted to enter Makai with out Koenma's consent. If he did go in, he would be punished; not only that but Kurama would be as well.

After a few minutes of reasoning with himself, the fire apparition decided that he would rather get a living Kurama into trouble, rather than playing it safe. If he went to see Koenma to granted permission to travel into Makai, precious hours would be wasted.

Stepping through the portal, Hiei disappeared from the living world.

A/N: Yes I know it's kind of a filler chapter, please bear with me, I'm trying. I hope all of you have a great New Year's Day! Please review, I need inspiration! Hopefully I will have the next chapter up within the coming month.

Hugs,

MightyMongoose/Mary Kate


	7. Hallucinations

Hey guys, really really sorry for the very late update. BUT, I do have a good reason. My basketball team made it into playoffs, so we've been having a lot of extra practices lately. AND I am taking a college-level course, which isn't fun. Especially since I'm a sophomore in high school……….arg! All I want to do is write but, no. I have to spend countless hours reading advanced history material, solving advanced math equations, doing advanced chemistry experiments, and to top it all off, playing extra hours of basketball. How do I get myself into these situations?

Anyways, sorry for the rant, but I've been a little stressed out lately.

On with the show!

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A putrid odor met Hiei's nose as he entered Makai. Rotting flesh, freshly spilt blood…boy was it good to be back home.

The fire demon took in his surroundings. Yes, yes, he remembered now' this was Red-Eye Valley. On the other side, supposedly dwelt a great dragon. No one had ever defeated him, and many foolish demons wandered towards their demise trying to slay the fell creature.

Of course! There was a small village only a few miles to the east of here. A village, hopefully, with information about Taiya Weed.

He flitted from tree to tree until he arrived at the aforementioned town.

Wrapping his cloak tightly around himself, Hiei leapt lightly down from the cypress that he had just landed on.

The small demon walked down the busy street that was crowded with apparitions. Occasionally a scuffle would break out, but Hiei paid them no mind. He had a job to do, a person to find.

Ah, here it was, the Bloody Dagger. The fire apparition headed in and walked towards the counter.

"What do you want shorty?"

"Information. I'm looking for Ubido."

The bartender, a shifty-looking raccoon demon, glanced around the tavern. "Ubido, eh? Well, he got into a bit of trouble with Spirit World a couple months back, and he's been in hiding ever since."

"Where?"

"From what I've heard, he's in one of the caves in the Cracked Skull Mountains."

"Hn." The short demon turned to leave.

"Hold it. Everything's got a price, even information."

"Idiot. You should have considered that before you started talking." Hiei became the fleeting shadow, setting a course for the Cracked Skull Mountains.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Genkai it's not working!" Yusuke looked down onto Kurama's bandages. They were saturated with blood, and starting to stain the futon he was lying on.

"Yukina, please change Kurama's bandages." As the ice maiden approached, the fox's eyes shot open.

"No," he moaned. "I'm sorry, just don't—don't leave." Yukina looked puzzled for a moment. "These must be the side effects, hallucinations." She spoke softly to the spooked demon, attempting to soothe his fears as she redid the bloodied bandages.

After she was finished, the demoness stepped back. Sensing that he was alone again, Kurama softly cried out.

"Stop. No, no, no. I didn't mean too. Please stay!" The fox made a noise Yusuke had never heard him make before. He whimpered.

This really pulled at the spirit detective's heartstrings. He knelt down and took the taller boy's hand into his own. Little did he know, the torment going on in Kurama's mind was much worse than he let on.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Swirling mist surrounded the fox, making it impossible for him to see. Making his way through the dense fog, Kurama kept his hands in front of him in order to not run into anything.

"Hiei! Yusuke! Kuwabara!" Kurama knew that it was not the smartest idea to yell out into the void, but he could not stand the inescapable solitude.

After stumbling around for another fifteen minutes the kitsune tripped and fell over a small ditch in the ground.

While he was still down, his surroundings shifted. Now he was in a thick forest, and he heard something that sounded like the flapping of wings. He looked behind him to see…no, it couldn't be.

"Kur-Kuronue?" Kurama stood up, his eyes wide.

Indeed it was the old bat demon. "You, you died all those years ago, but it is so wonderful to see you again my friend!"

"Friend?"

"Don't you recognize me, Kuro? Well I wouldn't either, but it's me, Youko."

"I knew that, but what I don't know is why you chose to stay in that wretched form."

"Kuronue, I—"

The bat's voice was hard.

"Yes I know dear friend, you would rather stay in Ningenkai with those accursed ningens, than come back to where you belong? You are a bandit, Youko, not some ningen schoolboy. You think that saving a few lives can make up for your past? There is so much blood on your hands, including mine. You are worthless, undeserving of these new friends that you have made. In fact you are undeserving of me as a friend."

Kuronue whipped out his scythe and flung it at the fox. Kurama attempted to leap out of the way, but the blade still snagged his shoulder. The redhead gasped as his shoulder exploded in fiery pain.

The fox fell to his knees, not understanding why he felt so weak.

"You should give up you worthless human." Kuronue spread his wings and prepared for flight.

Kuronue, wait. You were my best friend, don't leave."

Kurama hated the pleading tone in his voice, but anything was better than this extreme loneliness.

The bat only spat at him, as he rose into the sky.

"Don't leave me."

Once again, the kitsune's surroundings shifted. Soon he was back, enshrouded by the blinding mist. The fox looked around, hoping to see, hear, or at least smell someone. But no one came.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Genkai, GENKAI!" Yusuke's worry increased to tenfold to panic as he saw a new injury forming before his eyes.

"What?" The psychic's eyes widened as she saw her student hurriedly trying to mop up what appeared to be blood from….a new wound?

"What did you do!"

"Nothing, he just started bleeding!"

"Yukina! Bring in some extra bandages now!" The ice maiden appeared with fresh bandages only moments later.

Genkai attempted to staunch the flow and wrapped the bandages around the wounded kitsune's right shoulder. After the initial shock had passed, Genkai turned to the spirit detective.

"What happened? I leave for five minutes and I come back only to find Kurama with a new injury!"

"Don't yell at me you old hag! I didn't do anything!"

"If I may interrupt, Master Genkai, I think I know what may have happened."

"Go ahead Yukina."

The ice maiden looked sadly down at the fox.

"Well before, Kurama was moaning words in his sleep. I thought that they were just hallucinations, but it appears that they are more than that. It seems that if he is injured in these dreams, it happens to his real self."

As he was listening to Yukina's suspicions, Yusuke was becoming more and more angry. The knuckles on his balled fists were turning white.

"Dammit! This isn't fair. Even when the bad guy is dead, Kurama is still getting beat up. This is all my fault."

Yusuke stormed back to the kitsune's side. "Come on man. You've got to pull through. Who's going to confuse me and Kuwabara with stupid quotes and ideas? Who's going to keep a cool head while the rest of us are to mad to think straight? Please wake up."

Genkai and Yukina, seeing that this was a personal moment, left the room silently.

"Yukina, find Kuwabara and keep him busy, I don't think Yusuke would want him to barge in now."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

It had been six hours since Hiei had started his search for the illusive Ubido, and the fire apparition was defiantly looking worse for wear. The terrain was rocky, and his cape was tattered from being caught on countless outcroppings. His face was smudged and cut and he looked exhausted.

'I'll only sit for a moment.' The rock that Hiei was currently occupying gave a great lurge and sunk into the ground to reveal a hidden passage.

"Well that was unexpected." The demon peered into the newly formed cavern, and seeing nothing amiss, walked in.

'This is too simple." Hiei's senses were on full alert, but they wouldn't prepare him for what was about to happen.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Yes I know it's a cliffy, please don't hurt me! Don't forget to review! Hugs, MM


	8. And Even More Poison

Hola Chicas! Did ya miss me? Well, I have returned with your chapter. Also I have just one question for you guys….do I suck that much? Can I get some reviews readers? Maybe I do only have like three readers, in which case my three reviewers rock, but I'm hoping for at least 6 reviews before the next update. Gratzi.

Here we go.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Arrows, darts, and spears shot out of the wall on all sides. Unbeknownst to Hiei, however, each weapon was tipped with poison.

Easily flitting out of the way of the flying projectiles, Hiei was forced back to the exit to avoid them. He was surprised when his back hit a stone wall where the door had been. So surprised was he that the fire apparition lost his concentration, if only for a moment.

A dart managed to slip past Hiei's defenses and slice a long but superficial cut on his left arm.

The small demon hissed in pain as the wound burned like fire into his flesh.

"This shouldn't hurt this much."

"It shouldn't but it does." A silky voice floated from deeper in the cave.

"Ahhhh, Ubido….What was on the dart?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." An old thunder demon appeared from the shadows. He was short, only a few inches taller than Hiei, well Hiei's hair actually. The demon had wrinkled dark skin, hair the color of straw, and a plain tunic. From the way he carried himself, Hiei could tell that he had been quite a powerful demon when he was younger, but time had taken its toll, leaving him severely weakened.

"Yes I would."

"I know of your power "Forbidden One. However that cannot save you now. Only I can."

"Fascinating."

"It is, it is. For you see, the venom that is now running through your veins will slowly kill you, sapping away your strength until you waste away. I suppose you want me to tell you of the antidote?"

"Hn. First I need you to tell me where to find Taiya Weed, and then tell me of this new antidote."

"What makes you think that you can tell me what to do?"

"Perhaps this." The fire apparition disappeared for a moment….as did three of the fingers on Ubido's right hand.

"Ack! Alright I'll tell you. The dragon of Red-Eye Valley holds the antidote. The venom held in its teeth will cure your ailment. As for Taiya Weed………."

"Do you want to lose the entire hand this time?"

"No! It….it is at the bottom of the lake in the village of Bacern. Taiya Weed is a misnomer; it is actually a bright blue lichen!"

Hiei smirked, this was easier than he thought………..until he thought some more. He was a fire demon; he couldn't possibly get to the bottom of a lake. I'll have to call—he groaned, the bakas.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Back at Genkai's, Kurama was not doing any better. He had now bled through two more sets of bandages. Genkai and Yukina were getting worried.

Yusuke was still holding his vigil at the wounded fox's side, but he too, was loosing hope.

"Wha—what!" Yusuke had been awakened by his new Communication Mirror buzzing loudly in his pocket.

"Um, hello?"

"Yusuke it's me you idiot."

"Oh hey, Hiei. Find the Taiya Weed?"

"Erm. I am going to need assistance in getting it."

"So you need me to come out there."

"Well, yes, but I don't want to leave the fox completely unprotected."

"Kuwabara will be here."

"Hn. Like I just said, I do not want to leave the fox completely unprotected."

"Well if you want me to send the idiot to Makai—"

"NO! The last thing I need is that moron out here."

"Well then, I guess I'm coming…I mean Genkai will still be here."

"Hn."

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Hn."

"Can you tell me where the portal is?"

"In a park about 5 miles from here, behind some bushes."

"Geez Hiei, good thing you didn't give me vague directions or else this would be really difficult."

"Shut up you baka. I don't know any ningen landmarks. Use your Spirit Awareness or get the fool to help you."

"Alright, alright. I'll be there in half an hour."

"Hn."

The fire apparition's face disappeared from the screen.

"Genkai!"

The aging psychic ran into the room with Yukina hot on her heels.

"What, what is it!"

"Whoa, calm down Grandma, Kurama's fin—doesn't have any new wounds, but Hiei needs some help in Makai, so I have to go. Call Kuwabara and have him come over, I don't want to leave Kurama 'completely unprotected.'"

The two healers nodded and Yusuke knelt next to the injured kitsune.

"Now don't you go dying on me. You'd better still be here when me and Hiei get back." Giving Kurama's hand one final squeeze, he stood up and left the temple.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Kurama was still in the swirling mist. He had long since stopped yelling for his friends and was now curled in on himself.

The mist started to disappear.

'Not again.'

This time he was at the ring on Hanging Neck Island. He was alone on his side, but he could hear his opponents on the opposite side of the ring. He focused his eyes on the three figures and gasped.

"No."

"Yes, Kurama. Do you think we would remain friends with such a weak ningen such as yourself?"

The fox found himself looking at the rest of his team. Yusuke, Hiei, and Kuwabara shared the same smirk as they looked at him.

Koto appeared out of nowhere.

"The first fight will be Kuwabara vs. Kurama, and BEGIN!"

The orange-haired teen walked proudly into the ring, as did Kurama, though the latter was more reluctant.

"Kuwabara don't do this, I don't want to fight you."

"You don't want to fight because you think you'll lose."

"No, that's not it at all."

"I've had enough of your crap, let's fight."

Kuwabara summoned his Spirit Sword and lunged at Kurama. The redhead easily leapt out of the way even with his shoulder would from Kuronue.

The human kept advancing on the fox, who refused to hurt his friend. However, as the fight went on and Kuwabara kept refusing to listen to reason, Kurama saw no other way around it.

He summoned his Rose Whip, and aimed at a non-lethal area on the teen's body. He had just lashed the whip to knock the ningen out when Kuwabara's Spirit Sword came out of nowhere.

This caused the kitsune's hand to jerk just a little to the right, which caused the Rose Whip to hit Kuwabara in a very different location.

The throat.

Kurama gasped as the teen's air passages was torn open. Kuwabara could no longer breathe, and now Kurama could no longer move, so shocked was he.

The human's body convulsed for a few moments, and then went limp. His eyes stared unseeing into death.

The kitsune fell to his knees, unable to register that he had just killed one of his best friends.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Back in Makai, Hiei was impatiently waiting for Yusuke to arrive. After ten more minutes of pacing a large yelling form fell from the portal.

"You're late."

"Ya well, traffic was a bitch."

"We've got to get to Bacern. It's about 14 miles to the north. We should get there before sunset."

"Why before sunset?"

"Judging from your tired appearance, Kurama must not be doing to well. I hope to get the antidote for him before tomorrow morning."

"Ya, okay."

Hiei turned to the north, preparing to leave, when his world spun. Everything was spinning and it made him dizzy. He stumbled to the right, and when he finally regained his bearings, the fire apparition felt considerably weaker than he had been before.

"Yo Hiei, are your alright?"

"I'm fine."

And with that the small demon flitted off in the direction of Bacern, leaving a very confused Yusuke in his wake.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

So….what did ya think? If it sucks, please tell me, I'll stop before I get ahead of myself. Anyways, please leave a review, they make me feel warm and fuzzy -

Hugs, MM

P.S. Why did no one tell me there was a major mistake in the story! Well I'm not gonna tell you what it is now, other than I'm gonna fix it right…….now.


	9. Mission Partly Accomplished!

Hey guys, I have returned! Sorry for the overdue update, I've had severe writer's block. Happy June everybody! School's almost out! Can I hear a "HELL YA!" Anyhow, you probably don't want to hear me ramble on about my stupid existence, you want your chapter? Well I won't keep you waiting!

Let's go!

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Yukina, my love! Did you miss me?" Kuwabara bounded into Genkai's temple, halting only when he saw his "love" hovering over Kurama.

"Yukina!"

The ice maiden looked up and smiled.

"Hello Kazuma, hold on for a moment, I am changing Kurama's bandages right now."

She looked sadly down at the injured fox, who was not doing any better. Their only hope now was in the hands of Hiei and Yusuke.

Kuwabara's face softened.

"So he's not doing any better since I left?"

"Sadly, no."

"Man, what's taking Urameshi and Hiei so long anyhow?"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Hiei and Yusuke had been on the move for six hours and the teen was definitely feeling every single step of those long miles.

"Yo three-eyes, are we even goin' in the right direction?"

"Hn. If you don't have anything useful to say, please do not burden me with the sound of your voice."

Hiei, unbeknownst to Yusuke, was feeling very weak making him even more irritable than usual. The poison in his system was currently wreaking havoc on the demon's body.

"Jerk."

They walked in silence for another hour, much to Yusuke's irritation. They only stopped when Hiei leapt down from the tree he was currently occupying, stopping the detective in his tracks.

"What gives shorty?"

"We are about to enter the town, it's less than half of a mile ahead. I need to warn you of my, er, reputation in Bacern. We will not be welcomed."

Yusuke didn't seem too perturbed by this news.

"No offense, but personally I have no trouble believing that."

The fire apparition's eyes narrowed in frustration, but didn't react otherwise.

"Hn."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Kurama, still on his knees, stared blankly at the dead form of Kuwabara that lay in front of him.

"You're going to pay for that."

The fox looked up to see Hiei, who stared at him with eyes ablaze with hate.

Kurama didn't even retort. He deserved whatever the fire demon did to him, after all, what kind of friend was he? He who killed one of his own teammates.

Hiei disappeared in a flash.

The kitsune stood, looking at his feet, not even bothering to counter as the fire koorime's foot made contact with his face.

'I deserve this. Don't fight back, don't fight back.' The voice in Kurama's head took over, but in the background another, deeper voice made itself known.

'The ningen did that to himself. They betrayed you first. And you betray yourself; survival is the only thing that matters here! Remember that!'

Youko's voice won over that of Suuichi's and Kurama's head snapped up just in time to dodge an attack from Hiei.

"So are you ready to fight now?"

The redhead's hair became silver, and before the fire demon's eyes Youko Kurama emerged.

"Yes, but are you ready to die now traitor?"

Hiei's eyes narrowed and he sprang forward, drawing his sword.

Youko drew a seed from his hair lazily.

"I'll take that as a yes." And with that, the Blood-Sucker plant emerged and launched itself at Hiei.

The fire demon's eyes widened in shock, but as quickly as it began it was over.

The corpse of Hiei was soon covered entirely by the Blood-Sucker plant.

On the outside, Youko sneered, but on the inside, the spirit of Kurama wept for his two fallen comrades.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Nothing had changed with Kurama's condition for two hours and Kuwabara's shift was just about over.

All of a sudden a great bruise appeared on the fox's cheek, marring his fair features.

"Woah! Yukina said that Ras-rasputan…Rasputine would have some weird affects on Kurama but I didn't expect this."

A weak voice reached the large teen's ears.

"No. Hiei, Kuwabara…I'm…I'm sorry. For-forgive me."

A lone tear escaped the kitsune's closed eyes.

Kuwabara was more than confused but he felt so sorry for his friend that he didn't notice the time passing until Genkai tapped him on the shoulder.

"Go on Kuwabara, it's my turn to watch him, go get some rest."

The orange-haired teen sighed and stood up. "I'm gonna go get some air. I'll be back later for my shift."

When Kuwabara reached the door, he turned to look at his friend one last time, before leaving. The aging psychic could hear him cursing about how the world was to cruel to one of the kindest people he knew.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Hiei and Yusuke entered the town. As soon as they were seen, an almighty shriek was heard.

"It's Hiei! RUN!"

The town of Bacern went helter-skelter, trying to escape from the fire demon all at once. As soon as the place went quiet, Yusuke couldn't hold in his laughter any more.

"Shrimp, what did you do to these people?"

The fire demon rolled his eyes. "Trust me, you do not want to know."

That just caused Yusuke to laugh all the harder.

"Shut up you foolish detective! We need to get to the other side of the town, that's where the Taiya Weed is."

"Yeah, yeah."

The twosome made their way over to the lake.

"Oh, so that's why you can't get the weed, it's in a lake. Imagine that! The almighty Hiei, afraid of a little water!"

Hiei's cheeks flushed.

"Shut up detective. I'd dry up the lake but I might burn up the moss."

"Yeah, whatever, hey wait. I thought it was Taiya Weed not moss."

"It's a misnomer."

"Ooo, okay…what's a misnomer?"

"Hn. All you need to do is swim down to the bottom of the lake and bring up some of the Taiya Weed. It's a bright blue lichen…I mean moss, in idiot terms."

Yusuke stuck his tongue out at the demon, and he sat down and removed his shoes and shirt. Then he rose and walked over to the lake.

"Well here I go!" The detective waded into the water, took a deep breath and went under.

About two minutes later Yusuke surfaced with two handfuls of the blue moss in his hands and a grin on his face.

"Alright, now let's get the hell out of here and go home!"

"Hold on a minute." Hiei walked back into the town as Yusuke tried to dry himself off, and returned with a small sack that he had found in one of the abandoned houses.

"Hey Hiei, I could use some help in drying these off!"

"Hn. I'm not your slave."

"Oh come on, I just went swimming for ya! The least you could do is dry off my clothes."

The fire demon let a little of his youki out heating Yusuke's clothes.

"Thanks. Ow, ow, hot, HOT!"

Hiei smirked and put the Taiya Weed into the sack and started back towards the portal.

A few minutes later, Yusuke caught up panting. But that was the most interesting thing that occurred for the next two hours.

A little while later, Hiei who had been walking the past couple miles on sheer will power alone collapsed.

Yusuke, not expected anything like this to happen was frozen for a moment before rushing to his friend's side.

"Hiei, Hiei! Wake up!"

The fire koorime came to a moment later, finding the spirit detective's worried face to be the first thing that he saw.

"You passed out man. What's wrong?"

Hiei sighed.

"I was infected with a poison as well, but it is not as bad as Kurama's. You need to take this," Hiei handed Yusuke the pouch of Taiya Weed, "to Kurama."

"What, and leave you here! I don't think so. This is Makai remember, you'll be eaten!"

"I'll be fine, I know of a place nearby that is more than safe enough."

"But—"

"GO!"

"Fine, but I'll be back as soon as I can. You are not allowed to go dying on me."

Yusuke gave his friend one last look before running back in the direction of the portal.

Hiei watched the retreated form for a few minutes before standing up and slowly making his way to one of Kurama's dens.

'Lucky for me I've been to this one before, so his plants will recognize my energy.'

And sure enough the tangle of vines and branches cleared the way for Hiei, allowing him into their master's den.

'Then again, not lucky for me. This one is not the fox's favorite, so there won't be any food stored here.'

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

_Four hours later_

Yusuke bounded into Genkai's temple, completely out of breath.

"HAG!"

Genkai came into view. "Do you have it?"

"Yeah." The spirit detective reached into his pocket and pulled out the sack of Taiya Weed and handed it to his mentor.

Genkai took the pouch and examined it thoroughly. After a few minutes she said. "It needs to be boiled down and eaten."

Yukina, who had been standing in the room since Yusuke first called for her teacher, rushed for a kettle and water.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Youko Kurama was still looking down at his two fallen friends, until Yusuke's voice called to him.

"Don't worry, it's going to be okay." The detective reached a hand out to the fox, who hadn't even realized he had fallen to his knees.

The kitsune took it, unthinking.

"Idiot."

Kurama's eyes widened at his friend, and then chastised himself silently for being such a fool.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

There's your chapter! Now Kurama's so close to being saved, but what of Hiei? And will the fox ever trust his friends again? That's for me to know and you to find out. runs from readers. calls over shoulder Until next time!

Hugs,

MM


	10. Antidote Administered

Hey guys! Guess what! I'm updating! HECK YES! Haha. It seems that my extreme writer's block has been replaced with 'must write more now' syndrome! Anyhow, I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter and thanks to neko kitkat and Lonely Fox for reviewing and huggles to the rest of you too! Ok, let's get this show on the road!

o-o-o-o-o-o

_Closing Scene of Chapter 9_

_Youko Kurama was still looking down at his two fallen friends, until Yusuke's voice called to him._

"_Don't worry, it's going to be okay." The detective reached a hand out to the fox, who hadn't even realized he had fallen to his knees._

_The kitsune took it, unthinking. _

"_Idiot."_

_Kurama's eyes widened at his friend, and then chastised himself silently for being such a fool._

The spirit detective smirked as he tightened his hold on the kitsune's hand. He then pulled the fox over his head and launched him into the stands.

After landing on his back with a large amount of force, the kitsune opened his eyes and sat up slowly. Kurama took a few minutes to regain his bearings, and he tried to stand up but coughed up blood and fell back to the ground, exhausted from his many wounds. He looked up to see the spirit detective sneering in his face.

This betrayal hurt the fox the most. Yusuke was the first person to sympathize with him when he told the young teen that his mother was dying, and willing to die for him after only meeting him hours before. Although he never said it out loud, Yusuke, though brash, was one of the kindest people that he knew.

Tears formed in Kurama's amber eyes as he looked at the detective. "Why Yusuke? What have I done to deserve this betrayal from all of you?"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

_Meanwhile…_

Yusuke, Genkai, and Yukina were frantically waiting for the Taiya Weed to boil, which seemed to take longer due to their dire circumstances.

"Hiei could boil this in a moment….hold on…where is Hiei anyways?" The ice maiden and her teacher seemed to just notice that the fire demon was missing.

Yusuke averted his gaze to the floor. "He's infected with another poison too. He said that I needed to get the Taiya Weed to Kurama and that his was not as bad as fox-boy's."

"And you just left him there! In a weakened condition and in Makai no less?" Genkai was not happy with her student.

"Relax Grandma. Hiei said that there was a safe place nearby, I think he mumbled something about one of Kurama's dens."

Genkai sighed. "I suppose one of the fox's dens would be the safest place in Makai, but as soon as this antidote is administered to Kurama, I'm sending you and maybe Kuwabara to go get him."

After what seemed like an eternity, the Taiya Weed had reached the desired consistency, and Yukina placed it in a bowl so the fox could drink it, as it had the consistency of runny oatmeal.

"Now the rest is up to Kurama, I somehow don't think this will be as easy as we hoped."

"Good thing you're so cheery, Grandma."

The three entered 'Kurama's Room' and sat down next to him.

"Yusuke, I think you should be the one to administer the antidote, he knows you the best out of the three of us, he should trust you the most."

The teen nodded and put one arm under the redhead's shoulder intending to life up his friend so that he could swallow. However as soon as Yusuke made contact with Kurama's back, the kitsune let out a pain-filled hiss. From the fox's position the spirit detective was able to see a magnitude of bruising covering his fiend's back.

"Damn it Kurama, why does this have to happen to you?" The chocolate-eyed teen wasn't really expecting a response, until a weak voice met his ears.

"W-why?"

"Why what Kurama?" Yusuke was confused.

"Why…did you betray me Yus-Yusuke?"

The detective's heart nearly broke in two at those words. "I would never betray you Kurama, I don't know what this poison is making you see, but you have to believe me."

With that, the teen hoisted up the fox and pressed the bowl to the kitsune's lips, attempting to make him drink the antidote. But Kurama merely closed his mouth tighter and attempted weakly to squirm away from Yusuke's touch.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"You want to know what you did to make me do this to you?" Yusuke merely smirked. "You were born."

Kurama suddenly found himself unable to move.

"You were born, fox. You killed innocents, you killed your teammates; I'm the spirit detective. It's my job to get rid of monsters like you. I'm not the bad guy here, you are."

A bowl appeared in the detective's hand. "And now, it's your turn. A fiery death for one of a shameful past. Don't worry, you won't be dead for hours yet, but you'll wish you were in minutes."

The fox struggled violently against his invisible restraints, but it was to no avail, he was fastened tight.

Yusuke merely laughed cruelly at his 'friend's' plight. "It's your turn to suffer fox. Prepare for the end, but it will not come quick enough to you."

The fox had a plan. If he could keep the detective talking long enough, maybe he could still find a way to escape.

"I've never heard of such a poison before." He hoped the detective would take the bait and gloat, wasting time.

He was successful.

"Oh really. It's a lovely concoction of mine. As soon as it hits your mouth, it burns like fire, reaching every cell, every fiber of your being, until you die….five hours later. But enough chat, I see through your ploy fox, and it won't work. Have fun in hell."

The spirit detective started towards the restrained demon, started towards the restrained demon, bowl in hand.

Kurama was not going without a fight, he arched his back, bucking like a stallion, but Yusuke quickly put an end to that with his other fist.

"Don't do this."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Don't do this."

Yusuke's heart this time didn't just break, it shattered. For a moment he actually considered not giving Kurama the antidote.

"Stop it Yusuke." Genkai's sharp voice brought the detective back to his senses. "You won't help him by stopping now."

The spirit detective snapped out of his reverie and nodded, hating himself for having to force his friend's lips oven with the rim of the bowl. After a few moments he succeeded.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Yusuke forced the demon's mouth open, but the fox was not finished fighting yet. He snapped his teeth at the teen biting his hand.

"Ack! Stupid demon. You are going to get yours kitsune."

Kurama was not pleased when his 'friend' took his left hand and jerked the fox's mouth open and poured the liquid inside.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Ow! He bit me; I can't believe he did that."

After a few more gentle ministrations the teen was able to get the kitsune's mouth open and eased the Taiya Weed substance down Kurama's throat.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The 'poison' burnt like fire. The fox's world spun, making him feel dizzy and weak. His entire being was filled with white-hot agony as he tried to focus on breathing, but after a while even that became too much.

He prayed for the end to come, to put an end to his suffering. His friends had either betrayed him or were dead; what else did he have to live for?

Slowly Kurama's world turned black and he felt no more.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The real Kurama slumped in Yusuke's hold.

"I'm glad that's over."

Yukina checked the redhead's wounded side to see if the antidote had actually worked. She was ecstatic to see that the wounds had finally stopped bleeding. She attempted to heal them, and was even more pleased when she found that they closed up easily under her touch.

She was less than happy when she reached his shoulder. No matter how much she tried, it would not heal. The same occurred for the bruises on his face and back.

"It appears that the wounds that his mind inflicted will have to heal the old fashioned way. But, I don't think he'll be waking up for a while, the poor guy must be exhausted."

The three smiled down at their friend, feeling that the worst was over.

Kuwabara startled them out of their happy silence with a, "Hey, where's shorty!"

Yusuke started.

"Oh crap, I gotta get back there. He might be in more trouble. Hey Kuwabara, let's go."

"Go where? What's going on? I thought we were supposed to be taking care of Kurama."

"Kurama is fine now that we have gotten the Rasputine out of his system. Hiei is of your concern now. We'll take care of the fox."

"Uhhh okay."

Kuwabara followed Yusuke as he ran out the door.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

_Two Hours Later_

'Accursed poison!'

Hiei was definitely feeling the weakest he had ever felt. The toxin in his system was robbing him of strength and he did not have the means to replace any of it.

'Where is that detective, it can't of taken him this long to get back to the fox, and he didn't see why he would stay at Genkai's temple unless—unless something was terribly wrong.'

The fire demon started to worry about the kitsune.

"Curse this weakness! I need to get back to Ningenkai now!"

A scuffle outside caught his attention. He could hear faint voices over the thrashing of the plants.

"Stupid effing plants! How are we supposed to get to Hiei if we can't get past these things?"

The fire demon summoned the last of his strength and made his way towards the exit, knowing that the plants would not harm him.

"Hey, look who it is, our favorite three-eyed demon."

"Hn."

The fire koorime swayed as he walked and nearly collapsed, but caught himself on a nearby tree.

"Please tell me you know the antidote for the stuff you're poisoned with."

"Hn. Yes, but I don't think you're going to like it."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

See how nice I am. I update as quickly as ever _and_ there's no big cliffie! I expect nice reviews from all of you . Well it seems that Kurama's all cured but he might not be so happy to see his friends when all is said and done. And what about Hiei? How is he supposed to slay a dragon in this state, lucky for him he's got Yusuke and Kuwabara with him. But not lucky for him, _I'm _writing the story, meaning lots of angst still to come!

Hugs,

MM

P.S. Sorry for all of the switching back and forth, but I wanted you all to see both sides of the story. You know, how Yusuke and Kurama experienced it.


	11. Up and About, Finally!

Hey everybody! I'm back! So yes, I'm sorry I could have had this chapter done for about a week, but its summer and I was just kinda sitting around soaking up summer and enjoying the fact that my AP class was over(goodness was it torture). So here's your chapter, and I would like to thank neko kitkat, BballAnimeLover89, and Lonelyfox for the reviews of chapter 10, and thanks to the rest of you guys! Okay, okay I'm done. Story time!

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"A dragon?"

Kuwabara and Yusuke did not look happy as Hiei told them the antidote to the poison that was currently wreaking havoc on his body.

"Hn. If you two are too scared too take on a dragon I'll go myself. I will most likely be able to finish the job quicker without you there anyhow."

Hiei's weakened body betrayed his strong words as he swayed yet again. Yusuke shot forward and put his hand on the fire apparition's shoulder for support, however the demon did not like this and brushed the teen's hand away.

"Like we'd let you go slay a dragon by yourself, you can barely stand without falling over. Maybe you should stay here, we'll go get the antidote."

Hiei was not impressed.

"Do you know the way to Red-Eye Valley? I didn't think so."

"Then tell us."

"Hn. I'm going."

Yusuke sighed. One day the fire demon's stubbornness would get him into trouble. He just hoped it wasn't today.

Hiei started off in a seemingly random direction. The three detectives walked in silence for few hours before the koorime worked up the courage to ask what had been eating at his heart since the two humans had arrived.

"How's the fox?"

Once again, Yusuke sighed, but before he could answer Kuwabara did for him.

"Oh, he's fine, he's with Yukina and she will make everything better. She's so great."

The spirit detective raised an eyebrow.

"Shut up you moron. Anyhow, it took some work but we got him to take the antidote."

"What does that mean, he didn't want to take the Rasputine? Why would someone as smart as the fox not want to take the only thing that could save him?"

Kuwabara looked puzzled, as he was not there when the Rasputine was administered and waited for his friend to answer.

Yusuke lowered his eyes in shame. He knew that there was no way that he could have convinced the fox's mind that he was not an enemy, but……..he still felt guilty. He felt as guilty as Kurama thought he was. This was his fault, entirely his fault.

"Well?"

"I think he believes that I'm the one attacking him." When the fire demon and Kuwabara still looked at him, not fully understanding, he went on. "When I was trying to give him the antidote he struggled and bit me, and he asked why I betrayed him."

Hiei and the orange-haired teen looked stunned.

"Did he say anything about anyone else hurting him?"

"No."

"Well, that could be a good thing. If he thinks that we're the one's hurting him, he might not trust us ever again, he might even go as far as to attack us."

"Great."

Kuwabara, though upset by this news as well, tried to play the role of mood-lifter.

"Come on guys, there's nothing we can do for Kurama while we're here in demon world so why don't we just focus on the task at hand? You know, kicking this dragon's ass!"

This did cheer Yusuke up a little bit, and if it did or not to Hiei, was unknown as the fire demon wore and expressionless mask.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Kurama was trapped in oblivion; black and lonely, yet comfortable and soothing at the same time.

While he was lying there, ultimately relaxed, something tugged at the back of his mind; not a really pressing matter, but still somewhat annoying. It was the feeling of knowing that something wasn't right, but not knowing what it was.

The redhead furrowed his brows in an attempt to remember what had happened. How did he get here? Where were his friends?

Then reality crashed into him like a thousand tons of bricks.

His friends had betrayed him, and he had killed them.

Well, he killed two of them. Kuwabara and Hiei's deaths arose in the back of his mind making him feel sick to his stomach. And then he remembered Yusuke. The spirit detective with whom he entrusted his life had turned on him and gloated at the fox's pain.

Now the memories were coming back slower, like dust settling in a pond of water.

Yusuke had said something about a poison, yes that was it. Oh yes, a poison that would torment him until he died. That was it. He had died, and this place was his eternal punishment for the lives he had taken during his years in Makai.

Kurama sighed.

"I suppose it could be worse."

And that's how he stayed for a long while. Maybe minutes, hours, days; reminiscing how his friends, the people he cared most for, second only to his mother, betrayed him to the point where he was forced to kill them.

And yet there was something else, something he could not quite grasp. He struggled to remember as he knew that it was important, but his mind was still too fogged.

After what seemed to be an eternity later the kitsune remembered. The Rasputine. His eyes widened. Once again, his memories seemed to come slow but steady.

Shintaro, Yusuke being tortured, the duel, being stabbed, and finally being poisoned. Rasputine…Rasputine, what did it do?

Oh yes, it thinned the blood and made the victim hallucinate. Well, he was 70 sure that it made the victim hallucinate. He remembered vaguely someone telling him of this, like in a dream. He could only hope, he could only pray that it wasn't real; that his teammates, his friends hadn't really betrayed him.

Kurama steeled his resolve.

He needed to go back; he needed to know for sure. It was important to him, no, essential that he found out if he was welcome among the spirit detectives.

The fox fought the darkness, he fought it as though his life depended on it; and to him, it somehow did.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"When do you think he'll wake up Master Genkai?" A still worried Yukina sat next to the unconscious form of Kurama.

"It all depends on the fox now. It could be minutes, up to even days before he regains enough strength to regain consciousness."

Yukina sighed. Despite only knowing the redhead since the Dark Tournament, he had grown on her, not romantically, but through a caring friendship. She would be devastated if he died now.

As she was still musing on their friendship something caught the ice maiden's attention; a slight twitch had just passed through Kurama's right hand. Had she imagined it? As the kitsune remained motionless again, she thought it must have been so. Yukina decided she must have been so worried that now she was the one hallucinating.

Wait a moment.

There it was again. Almost undetectable movement, but definitely there. Genkai, who was now meditating did not see it.

"Master Genkai look! I think he's waking up."

The redhead's slight twitches soon turned into bigger movements as the two healers looked on to his waking.

Kurama groaned as consciousness returned to him and his injuries were strained. His green eyes fluttered open and the first thing that he saw was the smiling faces of Yukina and Genkai.

"You're awake!"

The kitsune attempted a smile and tried to sit up, but found that he could not get up all the way. Two sets of hands gently raised him up and brought a box for him to lean on so that he could remain in the sitting position.

"Thank you."

Kurama smiled again but it faded as he once again remembered why he had fought so hard to return to the land of the waking. It had not escaped his notice that Hiei, Yusuke, and Kuwabara were not there. He feared for the worst as he looked up into Yukina's eyes.

"I—I was infected with Rasputine, correct?"

The ice maiden cocked her head in confusion. Did he not remember anything?

"Yes Kurama. Don't you remember?"

"Some things. And a side affect of the Rasputine is hallucinations, correct?"

"Yes."

The redhead felt as if a great weight was just taken off his shoulders.

"And I have been here the whole time?"

"Yes, why all these questions Kurama?"

The kitsune sighed. He did not want to burden Yukina and Genkai with his problems and he viewed that as a great weakness, but at the same time he needed to get it out. He felt as if this hallucination was festering inside of him and would continue to do so until he told someone.

"I was just making sure what I witnessed was not true."

"What did you see Kurama?" This was the first time that Genkai had spoken since the redhead's awakening.

The fox debated with himself for a moment longer and said:

"I thought Yusuke, Hiei, and Kuwabara had betrayed me. We fought in the ring at Hanging Neck Island and I—I."

His voice faltered.

"Go on."

"I killed them."

Yukina gasped but Genkai remained calm.

"It was all in your mind, fox. I'm sure you did not want to kill them and would not have done so if the situation had not called for it. You have nothing to feel guilty about and when those three get back they will tell you the same thing."

Kurama smiled.

"Where are they?"

"They are in Makai helping Hiei find the antidote to **his** poison. You guys just have a thing for poison don't you?"

After hearing this, Kurama immediately tried to stand up.

"Just where do you think you're going?"

"I've got to go help them, they might need me."

"I don't think so fox."

The kitsune looked imploringly at the physic.

"You don't understand. I need to; need to see them alive, need to know they haven't betrayed me…"

He broke off awkwardly.

Genkai looked sympathetically at the redhead.

"I'm sorry but you are not permitted to stand up until your wounds have healed."

"Excuse me Master Genkai, but now that Kurama's awake perhaps his body will let me heal it."

"Proceed."

Yukina knelt next to the wounded fox and to both the ice and fox demon's delight the wounds closed under her touch.

The ice demoness smiled and handed Kurama a small bundle.

"What's this?"

"Extra clothes; we sent Yusuke to, erm, break into your house while your mother was out and bring you these."

Yukina looked sheepishly up at the fox, but he wasn't offended in the least. He got up and went to the bathroom to change and came out.

"One more thing, what story did you tell my mother this time?"

"Oh, just that you're the perfect boy at some genius camp."

The redhead nodded and called a word of thanks over his shoulder as he sprinted out the door, headed for Makai.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

An almighty roar signaled to the detectives that they had finally reached the dragon's lair.

Hiei, having not taken the past two hours well, collapsed by a rock wall.

"Alright idiots, the antidote is in its teeth, so please don't destroy them!"

"Yeah, yeah shorty we know. Come on Kuwabara its dragon ass-whooping time!"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

It would appear that Kurama trusts his friends again, but will that be true when he actually comes face to face with them? As for Hiei, he seems to be at his limit doesn't he? Well, we'll see how Yusuke and Kuwabara fare against the dragon in the next chapter. I hope you liked this one! Please review!

Hugs,

MM

P.S. Sorry to keep you guys with Kurama almost the whole time this chapter, but I really wanted him to get our of the temple!


	12. Slaying the Dragon

Hey guys! Did ya miss me? The answer better be a yes. : P Alright I don't have much to say here except thanks to neko kitkat and Lonelyfox for their reviews of the last chapter. And thank you to all of my other beautiful reviewers! huggles readers Okay, you're sick of me so here's the latest installment of the story!

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"_Yeah, yeah shorty we know. Come on Kuwabara its dragon ass-whooping time!"_

Yusuke and Kuwabara sized up their opponent. The dragon was massive. It was deep violet with a black underbelly, claws, and spikes that ran over its spine. The large reptilian had eyes the color of freshly spilt blood, hence the name 'Red-Eye Valley.'

The creature sat up against a large rock wall that effectively guarded its back, and the ground was littered with bones of the dragon's previous meals.

The spirit detectives looked at one another and nodded. Yusuke sprinted to the left side of the reptilian while Kuwabara did the same to the right. As if on cue, but actually mainly due to coincidence the two attacked at precisely the same time.

"REI GUN!"

"SPIRIT SWORD!"

Yusuke aimed the ball of energy at the beast's large neck trying not to damage the head where the vital teeth were. The blast effectively carved a large gash in the dragon's neck and it let out a shriek of pain.

Kuwabara on the other hand aimed his attack at the reptilian's side and he too, succeeded. The dragon's blood ran freely from its two wounds and it was enraged.

Out of nowhere a spiked tail struck the orange-haired teen in the stomach, which in turn opened a long cut across his abdomen and sent him flying. The human hissed in pain as he hit the rock wall nearest the small fire demon.

Hiei rolled his eyes. "Try not to get yourself killed."

Kuwabara stood up and glowered at his teammate. "Shut up you shrimp!" A deep red stain was coloring his previously blue jacket, and he covered it protectively. The human took a moment to regain his bearings and charged back into the fight with renewed vigor.

Meanwhile, Yusuke seemed to be gaining the upper hand against the fell beast. Many rei blasts and punches later the dragon seemed to be at the end of its rope. It was covered it its own blood and appeared to be desperate to kill this little fly that had caused it so much pain.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Kurama had little trouble finding the portal into the Makai. He dropped a few feet and landed in demon world. The fox looked around looking for something to help him find out where he was.

"Lookie what we found. A little human lost his way into our woods."

Kurama whirled around but saw nobody. He forced himself to remain calm and reached out his youki to find the perpetrator. Two tiger demons, dark green in coloring were in the trees surrounding him. One was directly in front of him and one was too his left.

"I would not recommend that you vex me if your lives mean anything to you."

Laughing could be heard. "He thinks that he can take us on! Maybe we should show him how things work in the Makai." The tigers leapt out of their hiding spaces and launched themselves at the redhead.

Kurama sighed again. "I can't help but say I warned you." He pulled out a seed from his hair and in a few moments all that remained of the two green demons were slices of meat that decorated the forest floor around him.

The redhead sighed and once again reached out his youki to vegetation around him, hoping that the local flora could help him locate his teammates.

A few moments later he found his answer. To the northeast, only about 5 miles away. He knew what lay there, and hoped with all of his might that his friends were not near the dragon of Red-Eye Valley. However knowing the team's luck, he figured that's where they probably were.

He sighed. How could he possibly look his friends in the eyes now? He would either have to lie to them about what they saw and hope that they didn't hear him talking during his time of unconsciousness, or tell them that he had killed them in his mind. At the moment he really didn't like either of those options, but figured he had another hour to mentally prepare himself for them.

And then he was off, sprinting in the direction that his plants had told him that the Rekai Tantei were. All the while his mind was racing with ways to confront his friends. Another problem arose in his head: What if he didn't actually trust them anymore? What if his subconscious panicked and he attacked his teammates in real life this time? What if he actually killed someone?

The fox shook his head. These what if's weren't getting him anywhere. He would just have to deal with whatever side effects of the Rasputine had on him when it happened.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Yusuke let out an almighty battle cry and once again let out a fierce array of punches and kicks at the dragon. It was forced back a few steps before it let out a jet of fire that missed the detective by mere inches.

"Ack! We gotta beat this thing quick unless we wanna get turned into charcoal!"

"What do you think I'm trying to do Urameshi? This thing's awful tough for bein' purple!"

The two humans took cover behind a rocky outcropping to catch their breath and hopefully devise a new strategy.

"I think the best thing to do is to somehow cut off its head. We won't risk the teeth and then it'll be dead!"

"Eww, come on Urameshi, that's just disgusting. Can we not talk about cutting off heads?"

"Ya Kuwabara what do you want to talk about? Kittens? Well just to inform you; THERE'S A DRAGON OUT THERE THAT WANTS TO EAT US!"

"Would you two shut up and kill the thing before I have to get up and destroy it myself!" The fire demon was beside himself with anger, but to his despair that last outbreak of angry words had drained him. 'Those humans are fighting with each other at a time like this…that's just great; we're going to be killed.'

Surprisingly after hearing Hiei's outburst Yusuke calmed down a little. "Now, we're going to attack the neck, and try to get its head off."

Kuwabara cringed a little at the though of gushing dragon blood, but got a hold of himself and nodded.

"Alright let's go!"

The two of them leapt out from behind their hiding spot and launched a vicious assault on the dragon, aiming for its neck. The creature did not seem happy as it let jets of fire fly almost every moment, swished its tail violently through the air, and clawed its two front legs at the ground trying to slash at Yusuke and Kuwabara.

After about ten minutes of attempted decapitation Yusuke was getting a little tired. Unfortunately for him the dragon sensed this and caught the tired teen with its tail, hurling the spirit detective behind the reptilian and into the rock face.

The chocolate-eyed teen groaned and tried to sit up, but winced as he did so. 'Great, broken ribs.' As he forced himself to stand up Yusuke saw something that made him punch the wall in frustration.

"Aww, that's just great! Not only do we have to deal with a mad dragon, but a mad dragon that's PMSing about her eggs!"

Indeed, the violet creature was a mother. Her deep green eggs lay in a nest of pebbles and bones.

While Yusuke was recovering from nearly being flattened Kuwabara was not doing so well. He had managed to wound the beast a few more times with his Spirit Sword, but only hit the dragon's neck once.

"Why don't you just die you stupid thing?"

Kuwabara's ranting only served to distract him as the reptilian not only seized the opportunity, but seized the orange-haired teen up in one talon-ed claw as well.

"Lemme go you big lizard!"

But the dragon only bared its white teeth at him. Finally realizing that she had the upper hand, the fell beast turned swiftly and snatched Yusuke while he was still distracted by the discovery of the eggs.

Now with both teens in her claws the violet reptilian looked from one to the other as if deciding which one to eat first.

"Oh this is just great. I ask them to do one thing, and look how they screw up the situation." The koorime attempted to stand, leaning heavily upon the rock face but found that he no longer had the strength to even do that. Hiei fell back down to the ground unceremoniously, cursing.

"Put us down right now you big ugly thing!" Yusuke was not happy with himself for being distracted and caught by a big reptile.

The dragon seemed to have finally made up her mind and opened her jaws towards Yusuke, preparing to bite his head off.

As the fell beast was half of a foot away from the chocolate-eyed teen's face, a large array of vines came out of nowhere and firmly latched the creature's mouth shut. Even more vines appeared and roped themselves to the dragon's midsection and then attached themselves the rock wall.

The violet reptilian was so shocked that she forgot all about her prey and dropped both Yusuke and Kuwabara to the ground. As soon as they hit the ground the two scrambled out of the way, while their previous captor attempted to claw the vines off of her face and stomach.

"Where did those come from?"

A blur of red came out of nowhere, quite like the vines had and launched itself at the dragon.

"It can't be."

But it was. The form of Kurama fighting the beast with his trusted Rose Whip stood out clearly in front of the two stunned spirit detectives.

He appeared to be not trying to kill the dragon, but subdue it. He had just about finished attaching thick vines to his opponent, when the creature struck out one final time. She lashed out with her remaining foreleg and sent the redhead flying back into a pile of rubble.

"Kurama!"

The two teens rushed over to help their friend and when they got there, were relived to find that he was still alive.

Kurama was partially buried by rock but managed to get most of the rubble off of him without much trouble. The fox discovered a small cut decorated his side and he put a hand over it, protectively. He heard his name being called out and looked up to see Yusuke and Kuwabara smiling.

The chocolate-eyed teen extended his hand to the fox. "Don't worry it's gonna be okay."

The kitsune's eyes widened in shock as he was struck with major deja-vu. He froze for a moment, but then stood up quickly knocking Yusuke's hand aside.

"Get away from me!" Fear was evident in Kurama's emerald gaze as he slowly backed away from his 'tormentor.'

The spirit detective looked hurt as he remembered that his friend had thought that he had betrayed him.

"No Kurama. It's alright. I don't know what you saw, but I would never do anything to hurt you."

The fox looked disbelieving at Yusuke, and did not stop backing up. For a moment Kurama appeared to be in great inner turmoil. He then stopped moving and said in a monotone voice. "We need to get Hiei's antidote."

Yusuke and Kuwabara looked at each other confusedly, but nodded. They followed the kistune back toward the dragon and watched as he had yet another vine to secure the remaining free limb to the rock face.

Kurama's face was still passive as he leapt up, careful of his new wound, the rock wall and cut the vines that held the creature's jaws together. Almost immediately he summoned two more plants to hold the beast's mouth open.

He took a small vial from his pocket and extracted a small amount of venom from the dragon's teeth. After he judged that he had enough, the fox expertly climbed down back to the teens, who stood flabbergasted, mouths agape.

Still without any emotion to color his voice or face the fox said, "Let's go home."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Yeppurs. The dragon is defeated but a new foe seems to have arisen; mistrust. Can the others get the fox to trust them again? It seems Hiei will be alright, now that Kurama got his antidote for him, but was the price too high? Friendships will be tried in the next chapter!

Hope you guys liked it! Please review on your way out, I might have some trouble coming up with the next chappie!

Hugs,

MM


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